Battle for Azeroth Collector’s Edition Novellas: Elegy and A Good War Excerpts (Spoilers)

Blizzard announced the Battle for Azeroth Collector's Edition contents yesterday and today has followed it up with a closer look at the two novellas - Elegy and A Good War. \r\rThe Collector's Edition is available for pre-purchase on Amazon. If you purchase via the link in this post, a small percentage of the revenue will kickback to Wowhead and help with news and dev costs.\r\rEdit: updated with excerpts from both novellas (spoilers).\r\rUsually Collector's Editions come with art books, but for Battle for Azeroth we are receiving two novellas instead with original artwork. While the stories will eventually be published online, the artwork will be reserved for the hardcover Collector's Edition copies.\r\rThe artwork depicts an angry-looking Malfurion meeting with Saurfang, as well as a preview of a mysterious elf. This elf has similar characteristics to the wounded figure in the Burning of Teldrassil art. We learn more about them in the excerpts below.\r\r \r\rThese novellas take place after the novel Before the Storm and depict the immediate lead-up to the Burning of Teldrassil.\r\rThere are two sides to every story. Get a taste for the tension and drama that unfolds in this preview of our Battle for Azeroth novellas: Elegy by Christie Golden and A Good War by Robert Brooks. These two tales explore the Horde and the Alliance versions of a fateful event, but only you can decide which faction tells it best.The full versions of both novellas are available in one beautiful hardback edition, complete with original and exclusive artwork, in the Collector\u2019s Edition of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth\u2014available for pre-order at your local retailer now.\r \r\rAlliance Excerpt - Elegy\rCommander!\u201d Delaryn shouted. \u201cCommander! We have come under attack!\u201d\r\rAnaris whirled, her mangled face darkening with anger. Her gaze flitted to Ferryn. \u201cExplain.\u201d\r\rThe Sentinels stopped, their weariness fleeing in the face of true peril to their people, listening with their whole bodies as Delaryn spoke.\r\r\u201cHorde rogues,\u201d Delaryn said. \u201cSeveral of them. They killed our nightsabers first to keep the word from spreading. Many are dead. Vannara says that reports have come in from other outposts in Ashenvale, citing the same thing.\u201d\r\rFor a moment, Anaris just stared at her; then she whirled to the Sentinels. \u201cWhy are you just standing there? You, run to Silverwing Grove! See if\u2014\u201d\r\rFerryn let out a throaty, furious snarl, but it came too late. Feeling Ferryn tense, Delaryn leaped off him, but a Forsaken had already dropped down from an overhanging branch.\r\rHe landed directly on Anaris\u2019s back, stabbing with his twin blades as she fell. Swifter than a dead thing ought to be able to move, the assassin rolled to his feet. One of his daggers made a clean, swift strike across Marua\u2019s throat, almost severing her head from her body.\r\rWith a yowl of fury, Ferryn sprang toward the Forsaken, while\u2014too slowly\u2014Delaryn drew an arrow and nocked it to her bow. There was a blur, and then another rogue was there, a blood elf, slashing out with his own blades, long golden hair flying behind him like a cloak. In what seemed like the span of a single heartbeat, half a dozen night elves were left bleeding out or spasming in torment on the verdant forest floor.\r\rFinally, the Sentinels rallied. The blood elf vanished at once, but no matter. They would catch him as he fled like the coward he was. They sent a rain of arrows toward the gaps in the trees, but hit nothing. The sin\u2019dorei had eluded them.\r\rThe Forsaken was not so lucky. Eriadnar surged toward him, drawing her sword. She sliced a furrow across the killer\u2019s torso and lopped off one of his arms. Ferryn pounced, pinning him to the ground, exercising remarkable restraint in not tearing out his throat.\r\rAnaris Windwood lay on the forest floor, her eyes open but their glow extinguished. \u201cCommander?\u201d Eriadnar said.\r\r\u201cShe is dead,\u201d Delaryn replied harshly; she was still furious with Windwood, though the commander was far beyond her anger now.\r\r\u201cDelaryn,\u201d Eriadnar said quietly, \u201cyou are commander now.\u201d\r\rSo she was. How strange it sounded. Delaryn shook herself and moved toward the prisoner. Her eyes fell on the daggers he had dropped, covered with Anaris\u2019s blood. She picked one up carefully, then nodded to Ferryn. He stepped back, growling menacingly at the Forsaken.\r\rShe stared down at him, channeling her pain and fury as she spat out, \u201cTalk to me, Forsaken, and perhaps I will let you live.\u201d\r\r\u201cLive?\u201d he grunted, in that awful, hollow tone so distinctive of his race. \u201cI have not lived in some time, elf.\u201d\r\r\u201cYou enjoy word games? Let us play a counting game instead.\u201d She gestured at him. \u201cYou are minus one arm. I can make it two. Or better yet, I will start small. You still have five fingers. Tell me something I can use, corpse, or I shall make it four.\u201d\r\rWhen he didn\u2019t reply, she knelt, grabbed his hand by the wrist, and brought his blade close.\r\rHe hissed angrily. \u201cI\u2019ll speak!\u201d\r\rSo the blade is poisoned. Even though he is dying, he does not want that level of pain.\r\r\u201cTell me your orders.\u201d\r\rDead lips curled back from yellowed teeth. Foul breath struck Delaryn full in the face as he laughed. Her stomach rebelled, but she willed herself not to wince.\r\r\u201cI would have thought they were obvious,\u201d he said. \u201cWere the intelligent ones the first to die? Oh wait, there are no intelligent night elves. A troll got another commander\u2019s ears, you know. He\u2019s wearing them now.\u201d\r\rIt was, she knew, quite possibly true. But Delaryn did not rise to the bait. \u201cThere is no Val\u2019kyr to bring you back if I shove this through your throat.\u201d\r\rDelaryn eyed the blade.\r\r\u201cWhat kind of poison did you use?\u201d she asked casually. \u201cI would guess it is a painful one\u2014you Forsaken like those. If you do not tell me something useful soon, I will conclude you are stalling for time and therefore have nothing to tell me.\u201d Her voice was cold.\r\r\u201cWhat prisoner would not stall for time? Existence is precious. Even we know that.\u201d\r\rIt was true. The night elves harbored a deep respect for life. They did not torture prisoners, nor did they take delight in unnecessary casualties. But they had little use for the abominations that were the Forsaken.\r\rSomething inside her turned hard as stone. Delaryn brought the blade to within a fraction of an inch of his index finger. \u201cDo not. Test. Me.\u201d\r\rThe cruel glee faded from his rotting features as he realized she was not making an idle threat. \u201cYou cannot win,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are everywhere. Have you not yet grasped that it\u2019s all of your posts that are under attack? Dozens like me have descended upon them with our painful poisons. And your clever hunters, your vaunted Sentinels, your slinking druids\u2014none had the slightest idea.\u201d\r\rDelaryn thought of the druid who had flown to Silverwind Refuge with his message. Some outposts had indeed reported a surprise attack. But there was something in the Forsaken\u2019s words that felt forced.\r\r\u201cYou are bluffing,\u201d Delaryn snapped. \u201cWhat is your plan? The Horde was marching on Silithus. Why divert to Ashenv\u2014\u201d\r\rAnd then the answer presented itself, so blindingly obvious that she felt as though she\u2019d been stabbed in the gut.\r\rThe night elven fleet was en route to Feralas.\r\rTyrande was in Stormwind.\r\r\u201cYou are clearing a path,\u201d she murmured, horrified.\r\rThe Forsaken made no answer but laughed again.\r\rDelaryn raised the dagger, but the rogue\u2019s laughter turned to a coughing wheeze. Gooey liquid spewed from his throat, and then he lay still. He had cheated her; his wounds had claimed his unlife before she could. Delaryn wasted no energy in frustration at the Forsaken\u2019s final jest or the precious minutes she had spent interrogating him. She\u2019d lost enough time.\r\rShe sprang to her feet. \u201cEriadnar, are you injured?\u201d\r\r\u201cNo, Commander.\u201d\r\r\u201cThen run, sister,\u201d she said. \u201cRun as fast as you can to Darnassus. Do not fight. Do not stop. Hide if you must. But get this message to Darnassus. Tell Malfurion an army is coming.\u201d\r\rFerryn shifted back to his kaldorei form. \u201cI can fly faster than she can run,\u201d he offered.\r\rDelaryn shook her head. \u201cI have another task for you. Go, Eriadnar. May Elune guide your path.\u201d\r\rThe Sentinel nodded, wide-eyed, and leaped to obey as swiftly as an arrow shot from a bow.\r\rDelaryn turned to Ferryn. \u201cMake for the Barrens. The Horde is coming. We need to know how much time we have before they arrive. Keep going until you see them. Do not engage unless you must. Stay alive, and report back.\u201d\r\rHe nodded. They looked at one another for a moment. There was no need for words. They had gone into battle countless times before, sometimes together, sometimes on their own. Now, they had been plunged into it yet again.\r\rAt the same moment, they reached for each other, kissed deeply, and then turned to their duties.\r\rFerryn didn\u2019t know, but whenever the two of them parted, Delaryn prayed to Elune that he would be safe. She asked for that favor again now, and for the first time, she had the faintest fluttering that, in this battle, the beautiful, loving moon goddess might not answer that prayer.\r\rHorde excerpt - A Good War\r The elf\u2019s face contorted, and for a moment, Saurfang believed he was about to cry. But no\u2014with his last breath, the dying rogue spit onto Saurfang\u2019s boots, leaving streaks of blood and saliva across his armor. Then he went still. \r\rMorka stepped next to Saurfang, a small axe in each of her hands. It had been over too fast for her to use them. \u201cDefiant until the end,\u201d she noted. \u201cHis people would be proud.\u201d\r\rSaurfang agreed. Such spirit. And I never even learned his name.\r\r\u201cYou did well, spotting this assassin,\u201d Saurfang told her. \u201cBut he never should have come this far.\u201d\r\rHe strode outside, snarling. There were siege crews, guards, and soldiers all around. Astranaar was swimming with Horde, and not one of them had marked the stranger walking through their midst. Not one had challenged him.\r\rHe would enjoy explaining that to them in excruciating detail.\r\r\u201cListen well!\u201d he began. Heads turned toward him. Eyes glanced at the blood on his axe and armor.\r\r\u201cDoes the Horde need a reminder that we are in a war? Does the Horde need\u2014\u201d\r\rAnd then he stopped. His next heartbeats seemed to last an eternity. His fatigue-addled mind had finally caught up with his hard-earned survival instincts. That boy had not been sent to kill him.\r\rHe had been trying to lead Saurfang outside.\r\rIn his haste to lecture his guards, Saurfang had done exactly what that boy had wanted. You just killed yourself, you old fool. He turned and flung himself back into the inn. An instant later, the ground shook as Malfurion Stormrage landed where he had been standing.\r\r\u201cLok-Narash!\u201d he yelled. To arms!\r\rHis advisors and tacticians were already forming a line in the common room, pulling him behind it and standing at the ready. Like many night elf buildings, this one had open walls on three sides, giving them a view of the chaos roiling outside. Siege crews scrambled away from Malfurion, only to fall from arrows and blades in their backs.\r\rThis wasn\u2019t just Malfurion. This was the kaldorei\u2019s last stand in Ashenvale, a decapitation strike on the commander of this battle. And Saurfang\u2014they had drawn him in so easily. Astranaar was an island with limited access. Easily defensible.\r\rImpossible to escape.\r\rAnd Saurfang had just taken shelter in a building with few walls. To fight an archdruid.\r\rThis is the end.\r\rAs the sounds of chaos rose outside, the inn darkened. Malfurion Stormrage stepped through the doorway, eyes fixed on Saurfang. Three of the high overlord\u2019s advisors charged him.\r\r\u201cStop!\u201d Saurfang shouted.\r\rMalfurion moved, and the metallic claws strapped to his wrists made short work of the two orcs and the blood elf. He stepped forward, over their bodies.\r\rMorka grabbed Saurfang by the shoulder. \u201cRun, High Overlord,\u201d she said. \u201cWe will give you time.\u201d\r\rNo, they wouldn\u2019t. Not more than a heartbeat. It was time to die with honor. \u201cTake the maps,\u201d he whispered. \u201cGet them to the warchief.\u201d\r\rMorka\u2019s eyes went wide, but Saurfang turned away, roaring, \u201cMalfurion Stormrage! I challenge you to mak\u2019gora!\u201d\r\rThe words sounded bizarre to his own ears. What use did a night elf have for an orcish duel to the death? It didn\u2019t matter. Malfurion was here for Saurfang. He would not pursue a bunch of advisors.\r\rSaurfang looked at the other Horde soldiers in the inn. Seeing their confusion, he raised his voice even louder. \u201cStormrage is mine, you gutless whelps! If you are not out of this inn in five seconds, I will kill you myself!\u201d\r\rMorka looked furious, but she obeyed. She snatched up the map container and sprinted out of the building. The rest quickly followed.\r\rMalfurion\u2019s eyes did not leave Saurfang\u2019s. \u201cA duel, Saurfang?\u201d he asked in a soft voice\u2014soft like the eye of a storm, like the freshly dug soil of a grave. The archdruid stepped forward calmly to where Saurfang waited. \u201cDo you think I care in the slightest for a duel?\u201d\r\r\u201cYou can run, if you\u2019re afraid,\u201d Saurfang said. He was buying time. That was all. The only victory Saurfang could hope for was for the latest Horde troop movements to be delivered to Sylvanas\u2019s hands so the battle might continue. \u201cOr fight me, and see if I will fall.\u201d\r\rMalfurion said nothing. He raised his arms. The inn trembled. The wooden floor and ceiling creaked and groaned.\r\rSaurfang\u2019s lips pulled back into a snarl. The power of nature was not found in the swing of a fist or the slice of a blade. It was found when a forest was rent to dust by fire and yet returned in only a few years. It was found when a mighty city was claimed by overgrowth after being abandoned for a decade. It was found in a thousand generations of predator and prey, which lived and hunted by the instincts of their ancestors.\r\rIn the hands of a druid, that power could be condensed from centuries into a minute. In Malfurion\u2019s hands . . .\r\rThis inn, and everything in it, would be returned to the earth in seconds.\r\rSaurfang leapt forward, axe swinging, as vines and roots tore apart the inn. Malfurion stepped clear of his blow effortlessly, and the metal claws strapped to his hands darted toward Saurfang\u2019s head. The orc batted them away with his axe shaft. Barely.\r\rSaurfang roared, his axe whistled, and Malfurion\u2019s second strike snaked between a gap in his armor around the shoulder. Blood dripped to the floor. Roots, countless roots, a whole forest of roots grabbed at Saurfang\u2019s ankles. He danced away, chopping the plants whenever they tried to snare him.\r\rWhen pieces of the inn started to fall around the orc\u2019s head, he accepted his death. Against a creature like Stormrage, there was no dishonor in failure. Saurfang simply had to meet his end without surrender.\r\rA sudden blast knocked him from his feet, dazing him. Saurfang closed his eyes. It is done. His hands went numb, tingling from the dark power that roared through the ruins of the inn\u2014\r\rDark power?\r\rSaurfang opened his eyes. Malfurion was not looking at him. His arms were crossed in front of his face as an arrow, wreathed in shades of violet smoke, exploded just before him. Emerald light rose against the darkness, and Malfurion charged to fight Sylvanas Windrunner, who had another arrow nocked and drawn at point-blank range.\r\rSaurfang would have leapt to his feet, but his legs wouldn\u2019t obey his commands.\r\rThen the inn collapsed on top of him, and he was surrounded by darkness and pain. But he wasn\u2019t dead. Not yet.\r\rDeath wasn\u2019t supposed to hurt this much.\r\r

Comments

Comment by Maljinwo

The artwork depicts Malfurion meeting with an Orc,\r\rThat's clearly Saurfang

Comment by AlakeiThancan

on 2018-04-06T12:35:05-05:00

The artwork depicts Malfurion meeting with an Orc,

Not just any orc, it's clearly Saurfang.

EDIT : Damn I was beaten to it

Comment by perculia

on 2018-04-06T12:36:03-05:00

It's been updated - first time I saw the artwork (it wasn't at the press event) so I wanted to spend a few extra minutes verifying.

Comment by Vigrothar

on 2018-04-06T12:36:18-05:00

That's no mere orc! That's High overlord Saurfang look at his axe for god sakes......

Comment by SilverDragon234

on 2018-04-06T12:39:18-05:00

Now Malfurion's pissed off.

Comment by Deadlyz

on 2018-04-06T12:52:08-05:00

Malfurion meets his doom.

Comment by Mandrion

on 2018-04-06T12:54:20-05:00

This elf looks like Shandris Feathermoon (in the Temple of Moon in Darnassus clearly).... and if she dies, Tyrande and Malfurion will go enrage! Then the Horde will know what the name Stormrage stands for.

Comment by Mandrion

on 2018-04-06T13:00:04-05:00

Malfurion meets his doom.\r\rNot really, look at Saurfang. He is holding his weapon and stands like he know what awaits him and the Horde for their crimes. And everyone with some knowledge of the Lore knows, Malfurion wields much more power then any orc on this planet. Except for green Jesus maybe...

Comment by Maljinwo

on 2018-04-06T13:04:44-05:00

Malfurion meets his doom.\r\rNot really, look at Saurfang. He is holding his weapon and stands like he know what awaits him and the Horde for their crimes. And everyone with some knowledge of the Lore knows, Malfurion wields much more power then any orc on this planet. Except for green Jesus maybe...\r\rTo be fair... We haven't heard of Malfurion in BfA.\r\rSure, he is powerful and has great power. But what if he met his end at the hands of Saurfang?\r\r\rHonestly, i'm pretty sure this image is just for hype and they will merely talk or engange in a small skirmish

Comment by Sardos

on 2018-04-06T13:05:10-05:00

You can read the previews. Interesting, but @Mandrion whoever that elf is supposed to be, her death comes much later. Saurfang fights Malfurion way before that it seems. It bigs him up really well, but considering we know the Horde make it much further I do wonder if they really are intending to kill him off.

Comment by Faoil

on 2018-04-06T13:05:18-05:00

Malfurion meets his doom.\r\rNot really, look at Saurfang. He is holding his weapon and stands like he know what awaits him and the Horde for their crimes. And everyone with some knowledge of the Lore knows, Malfurion wields much more power then any orc on this planet. Except for green Jesus maybe...\r\rHear, hear. Him and his filth burnt down his tree. Don't ^&*! with a druid's tree. No matter how hard you can swing a sharp stick.

Comment by RogueRequest

on 2018-04-06T13:07:39-05:00

Malfurion meets his doom.\r\rNot really, look at Saurfang. He is holding his weapon and stands like he know what awaits him and the Horde for their crimes. And everyone with some knowledge of the Lore knows, Malfurion wields much more power then any orc on this planet. Except for green Jesus maybe...\r\rYou can already see roots covering and invading the building, one even looks like it's reaching out for Saurfang already.

Comment by Tombsv

on 2018-04-06T13:08:08-05:00

Turns out the mystery elf is Sylvanas that timetravel to the future to convince undead Sylvanas to not do it!\r\r...or a more logical choice. Shandris Feathermoon after deciding her WoD armor were way to much protection.

Comment by Leicerion

on 2018-04-06T13:11:52-05:00

A burning tree and sleeping in holes?

Comment by Majora

on 2018-04-06T13:16:49-05:00

Malfurion meets his doom.\r\rNot really, look at Saurfang. He is holding his weapon and stands like he know what awaits him and the Horde for their crimes. And everyone with some knowledge of the Lore knows, Malfurion wields much more power then any orc on this planet. Except for green Jesus maybe...\r\rCharacters we know are in BFA: Saurfang\rCharacters we have yet to see in BFA: Malfurion\r\rGet cleaved, Malf.

Comment by Skrauhg

on 2018-04-06T13:19:41-05:00

Malfurion looks MAD! I wonder how the encounter goes down. And there's no Green Jesus. It was the Dragon Soul or the influence of others, and Thrall has shown himself to have the powers of any other shaman.

Comment by Sardos

on 2018-04-06T13:22:49-05:00

https:\/\/worldofwarcraft.com\/en-us\/news\/21647285\/collector-s-edition-a-tale-of-two-novellas - check the previews here. Saurfang is a badass (best Orc), but even he has no illusions he can take Malfurion 1 on 1. \r\rRecently playing WC3 again and I will miss Furion, but honestly... maybe him going out would be what the Sentinels (and Tyrande) need to finally become decent characters again :P.

Comment by Alechs777

on 2018-04-06T13:25:02-05:00

It's obvious that even Saurfang has no chance against Malfurion. But we know that he'll appear in the BfA scenario, maybe Malf will show mercy? However, I'd love to see the Archdruid as serious and as bada$$ as he should've been in Legion instead of being, well, reckless and irresponsible.

Comment by perculia

on 2018-04-06T13:29:42-05:00

Updated with the novella previews. Wow that Horde one o.O

Comment by Luxomnis

on 2018-04-06T13:32:50-05:00

Malfurion meets his doom.\r\rNot really, look at Saurfang. He is holding his weapon and stands like he know what awaits him and the Horde for their crimes. And everyone with some knowledge of the Lore knows, Malfurion wields much more power then any orc on this planet. Except for green Jesus maybe...\r\rBite your tongue. This is Broxigar's brother we're talking about. He is no mere orc. Sure, Saurfang may not have fancy nature powers, but neither did Brox, and he was the only mortal to ever wound Sargeras; they both just have a badass axe (and if you think the Arcanite Reaper isn't badass, you've got another think coming).